Young Chefs Compete at the Library | Middle School Program Wins Humanities Award
Hosting Iron Chef @ your library
Combine four teams of amateur chefs with three volunteer judges, fold in a variety of random ingredients, top it all off with a creative presentation and you have the recipe for an epic Iron Chef competition. Over the years, the City of Santa Maria Public Library has hosted numerous successful Iron Chef competitions, and it is always a creative, messy, and unforgettable experience for both participants and staff.
The first step when planning an Iron Chef competition is to determine what type of entree the chefs will create. To provide a safe event for participants, the City of Santa Maria Public Library requires no cooking during the Iron Chef cooking competition. Instead, dishes such as sandwiches or ramen are selected for the main dish, and the dessert is made with a packaged pound cake or brownies. Numerous ingredient options are provided during the competition; these are chosen by searching the internet for recipe ideas. Food is purchased from a local discount grocery store.
On the day of the program, staff prepares the base for the entrée by slicing bread or cooking ramen in a crock pot. Optional ingredients are removed from packaging and separated into portions for each team. Competitors arrive as a team or come alone and wait for their team to be assigned. Many participants dress for the occasion, donning aprons and chef hats. Before the cooking begins, each group decides on a team name and creates a poster to display at their workstation. The most creative team gets an extra two minutes to finish their entrée.
Teams have 20 minutes to create a unique entree using their base, the provided foods, and a mystery ingredient which all teams are required to include in their dish. Provided ingredients include canned and fresh veggies (e.g., peas, carrots), various sauces and seasonings (e.g., soy sauce, ginger, sesame seeds), proteins (e.g., chickpeas, imitation crab, egg), and, of course, the mystery ingredient. One year the mystery ingredient was corn, another year was bacon. Judges walk around and make comments while teams assemble their food. With ramen, some teams stick with traditional soup, while others choose to forego the liquid and make a noodle dish. Finished entrees are then presented to the judges by each team. The team describes their creation and process, as well as what ingredients were used and for what purpose. After the presentation, the judges try the dish. This is the most entertaining part! The volunteer judges rank the team on presentation, taste, and creativity of their creation. Teams do not learn the judges’ feedback until the end of the competition.
After cleaning up their workstations, teams are ready for the second phase of the competition. They must create a delectable dessert using the same base, a mystery ingredient, and the provided ingredients. Ingredients include candy, fruit, syrups, jams, chocolate chips, and whipped topping. Mystery ingredients have previously included cereal and mandarin oranges. Each team of chefs again presents their dish to the judges, and are ranked on presentation, taste, and creativity. Teams and judges alike then enjoy cupcakes while a library staff member tallies the scores. The members of the winning team receive bragging rights and a copy of a cookbook for teens.
The Iron Chef competition is an incredibly popular event that helps budding chefs hone their creative impulses and learn new skills; and it’s also a fun time for everyone involved.—Jenn Harmer, youth services librarian, Santa Maria Public Library, California
Jaffarian Award-winning Program Promotes Creativity and Compassion
Saint Marys Area Middle School in Pennsylvania was the recipient of ALA’s 2022 Jaffarian School Library Program Award for Exemplary Humanities Programming for their program, Empathizing with Teens in Trauma: Terezín/Theresienstadt Museum Project.
The Terezín/Theresienstadt Museum Project, ongoing at Saint Marys for over six years, involves students in researching the artwork, poetry, and music created by teenagers in the Theresienstadt/Terezín Nazi concentration camp during World War II. Each student selects a piece and researches the history of the camp and the story of the teenager who created the work. A final presentation is created by the students to share their personal responses to the trauma that the teenagers in the camp faced.
This past year, research and presentations were complemented with a lesson from the school social worker on how art and music can help people cope with stress and highly emotional situations. Students also watched the film, The Defiant Requiem, a documentary highlighting the courage of a young Czech conductor imprisoned in Terezín who taught fellow prisoners Verdi’s Requiem. Students were then joined by the creator of the film, Murry Sidlin, via Zoom for a discussion and Q&A.
“Through the process of engaging in this humanities programming, we are able to allow our students to not only engage with the content, but connect with their mental health,” said librarian Ellen Stolarski. “By bringing in our social worker to the program, it has been reported that students who didn’t normally come to her office would come to her requesting more techniques.”
“The Award Committee was immediately drawn to the emphasis Saint Marys Area Middle School put on creating a multi-dimensional learning experience that promotes empathy, creativity, and compassion amongst students,” said Ericka Brunson-Rochette, Jaffarian Award committee member. “By intersecting Holocaust curriculum with trauma-response, this program uniquely ties together history, art, and mental health education in a powerful and impactful way.”
Applications for the 2023 award are now open. Complete information is available at: www.ala.org/jaffarian.